come on
(START)
C1 to start to happen or work:
If you have an illness coming on, it is starting gradually:
UK informal If a woman comes on, her period (= the blood coming from the womb that happens every month) starts.
More examples
- What time does the heating come on?
- I've set the oven to come on at ten.
- All the lights came on.
- The streetlights come on automatically at dusk.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Starting and beginning
- be in the first flush of idiom
- become
- begin
- branch out
- break into sth
- export
- get down to business idiom
- ground
- incipient
- initiator
- instate
- introduce
- kick
- strike
- swing into action idiom
- touch sth off
- train
- trigger
- wade in
- weave
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
(ENCOURAGEMENT)
B1 said to encourage someone to do something, especially to hurry or try harder, or to tell you something:
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Expressions telling people to hurry up
- arse
- c'mon
- come
- come along
- gee
- gee up!
- get/put your skates on idiom
- jump
- look
- make
- make it quick/fast idiom
- make it snappy idiom
- move it! idiom
- move/shift your arse! idiom
- quick
- shake a leg idiom
- skate
- snap
- time is of the essence idiom
- weave
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(SEXUAL INTEREST)
informal to make your sexual interest known to someone:
(APPEAR)
(of an actor) to walk onto the stage:
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Cinema & theatre: acting, rehearsing & performing
- act
- act sth out
- amateur theater
- dumb show
- enact
- entrance 1
- ham
- ham it up
- improvise
- live action
- mime
- offstage
- portray
- prompt
- repertory
- rest
- stage
- stage whisper
- stretch
- variety
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(NOT BELIEVE)
informal used to tell someone that you do not believe them or that you disagree with them, or to show that you are angry with them:
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Linguistics: interjections
- (well) what do you know! idiom
- aiyo
- alas
- aw shucks
- awesomesauce
- bam
- bless
- boo
- charming
- good show idiom
- goodness
- heck
- hot dog! idiom
- talk
- use your loaf idiom
- voilà
- wake up! idiom
- watch out
- what an idea! idiom
- yes
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